The Death of Superman
by The Fallen Sky
Summary: His body may be immortal, but the same can't be said for his soul.


Title: The Death of Superman  
Author: The Fallen Sky  
Rating: NC-17  
Pairing: Chlark  
Summary: His body may be immortal, but the same can't be said for his soul.  
Warning: This story contains a scene of graphic sexual assault. If this hits too close to home or is too much for you to handle, please do not read this story. You have been warned.  
A/N: This is a future AU one-shot and is very angsty, sad and includes character death.

* * *

He reaches the door and hesitates.

Walking through this door will change him forever, and as badly as he wants to get to what's waiting for him on the other side, he has a whisper of doubt plaguing him.

She sees his indecision as a glimmer of hope, an opportunity to save him, and seizes it.

"You don't have to do this." Her voice is low but filled with resolve. "It's not too late. You can stop before you cross a line you won't be able to come back from."

His eyes move from the door to her, and she's startled by the emptiness she sees there. Gone is the love and warmth she knew for so many years. In its place is a cold nothingness that frightens her, causing her heart to break and her eyes to sting with unshed tears.

He remains silent, his expression neutral, but his eyes speak volumes. The nothingness is replaced by a cascade of pain and grief and guilt.

Her tears flow freely as the reality of his turmoil finally hits her. Somehow, she's able to find her voice, and it's remarkably strong and calm considering the circumstances.

"Clark, I know you're hurting, and I know you blame yourself for what happened, but it's _not_ your fault."

He doesn't respond. She presses onward.

"What you're planning, Clark, it's not the answer. Revenge isn't the answer. Hurting those men, it won't change anything. Correction. Hurting those men _will_ change one thing." She pauses a moment to emphasize her point. "It'll change _you_."

He's silent, and it's clear her words are having no effect. Her voice rises in pitch, and she's practically pleading as she continues.

"If you do this, you'll never be the same. The good, kind-hearted man I know and love will cease to exist if you go through with this. I know it's hard, but you have to let go of this pain and anger, or it'll destroy you."

His eyes leave hers and focus on the floor. Taking his action as a hopeful sign, she makes a final push to alter his chosen path.

"Think of Lara. How would she feel if you had to explain to her what you're about to do? Would she be proud of you? Would she be able to look at you the same afterwards?"

At the mention of Lara, his body begins to tremble. She knows this is killing him, and she doesn't want to add to his pain, but she has to save him and will do whatever it takes to do so.

"She loves you, and so do I. Neither of us wants to see you become a monster." Her voice drops to just above a whisper. "Please, Clark. Be the man I married, the father of my child. Be the hero I always knew you were. Be Superman."

His eyes drift shut, and silent tears begin to fall.

A sad smile graces her lips, because she knows she's just saved her soulmate from making the biggest mistake of his life.

Without warning, his head snaps up, his eyes wide, filled with rage and glowing orange.

Images bombard him, images that are forever burned into his memory, horrible, life-shattering, soul-destroying images.

He sees his wife, stripped naked, beaten and bloody. He sees a man holding a knife to his daughter's throat, threatening to kill her if his wife doesn't do everything she's told. He sees several men approach his wife, unbuckling and unzipping their pants. He sees them touch her naked body, watches her shudder in revulsion but remain silent, not fighting back. He sees one of these men grab her by the hair and force her to suck his cock. He sees another man move behind her and thrust into her, fucking her hard as she whimpers in pain and terror. He sees his daughter crying as she's forced to watch her mother being violated.

He hears these men laughing and saying what a good cocksucker she is and how wet and tight her pussy is. He hears them cry out as they come inside his wife. He sees the tears stream down her face, sees the shame in her eyes from what's just been done to her.

He sees more men approach her, their cocks hard and ready to enjoy being pleasured by Superman's whore of a wife. He sees her violated over and over again. It goes on for hours before it's finally over, and she's left lying on the cold concrete floor in a puddle of sweat, tears and other bodily fluids. He sees how broken she is.

Then he sees something that turns his blood to ice and causes his heart to cease beating. He sees these men who ravaged his wife...he sees them...he sees them turn their attention to...his five year old daughter.

He sees the mind-numbing terror in his daughter's eyes and etched into her face as these bastards rip off her clothes and take turns fucking her. He sees his wife struggle and fight to get to their daughter, to protect her from the savagery of these beasts. He sees these men restrain his wife, laughing and cheering as, one by one, they all have a turn violating his baby girl.

Finally, he sees his wife and child lying lifeless in an alley in Metropolis, their naked bodies black and blue and red from the torture they endured before they were released into the comforting embrace of death.

He lost all faith in humanity when he watched the recording of his wife and daughter being tortured and later discovered their bodies, discarded like garbage.

The men who did this to his family, to him, they did it because he's Superman, because they hate everything he stands for, because they hate _him_. They wanted to send a message to him, to let him know that _he_ may be untouchable, but the people he loves aren't. Message received.

These bastards believed they'd be safe from retribution. Why else would they openly show their faces on a recording of a brutal assault on his wife and daughter? They knew he wouldn't apprehend them and leave their fate to the judicial system, because no man would want the world to see his wife and daughter being repeatedly raped, not even in the name of justice. They also knew he wouldn't seek revenge, wouldn't find them and kill them. After all, everyone knows that Superman doesn't kill, not even those who deserve it.

Turns out, they were wrong.

Seeing his family brutalized and finding their bodies discarded in a dumpster changed him. His morals and ideals forgotten in a haze of anguish, despair and fury, he hunted down each and every individual responsible for taking his family from him. He brought them to this place, this abandoned building in the middle of nowhere, because he intends to kill them, one by one, slowly.

With one hand, he reaches up behind him and grabs hold of his cape. At the same time, he grabs hold of the House of El sigil on his chest with the other hand. Simultaneously, he rips each symbol of Superman from its place. Clutching them tightly in his fists, he lets loose a burst of heat vision, setting both items ablaze before dropping them unceremoniously to the floor.

His eyes move back to the visage of his wife. He's not sure if she's a figment of his imagination or if she's a ghost, but he's grateful to be able to look upon her loveliness, to remember her the way she was before...before she was taken from him.

He reaches out a hand to stroke her cheek, but instead of meeting warm, solid flesh, his hand grasps nothing but empty air. Meeting her eyes, he says in a raspy, broken voice, "Superman is dead."

Her words, meant to bring reason, meant to change his mind have instead strengthened his resolve. Her tears flow freely as she resigns herself to the reality that her beloved husband is gone, lost to grief and hatred. And yet she can't help but look upon him with love in her eyes. Regardless of what he's become, she loves him and always will.

Somehow managing to find her voice, she says, "I love you, Clark."

Upon hearing those words, a single tear escapes his eye before he turns back to the door, opens it and steps through.

_fin_


End file.
